Neck Deep
by Artemis Day
Summary: In which Jane Foster can't get any work done thanks to her lover's rather... distracting choice of wardrobe. There is no way he's not doing this on purpose. Lokane AU.


**A/N: Holy Crap, the new Thor 2 teaser!**

**That was something else, and I'm not just talking about Loki's hair.**

**It inspired me to go ahead and write this little one-shot that's been in my head for the last couple of months. I'm sorry to say it is not about Loki's crazy/sexy/out-of-control hair. It is actually about his neck, which is almost as good, right?**

***crickets***

**Pfft- whatever. So I thought of this a while back after seeing this gif set on tumblr all about Tom Hiddleston's neck. At first, I thought, 'what the heck is tumblr thinking this time? His neck? It's just a neck? What's sexy about necks?' And then I took a better look at the gift set and found it had a very convincing argument.**

**So here's the long overdue result of that. I hope you all enjoy it!**

**PS: Loki and Jane are in an established relationship here, because I said so.**

* * *

'_He just _had_ to pick today to start listening to me, out of all the days in the week.'_

Jane Foster thought this while sitting at her desk beneath a looming pile of paperwork that seemed to grow taller every time she looked at it. Most of it should have been done hours ago. Indeed, she only had the end of the week to complete it all before she had SHIELD breathing down her neck. They were already pretty damn unhappy with her considering her recent choice in housemate.

Speaking of which, the greatest source of Jane's current distraction was said housemate, all six feet of him in black slacks and a black shirt with the top buttons undone. It was the most casual thing Jane had ever seen him wear, and if he'd chosen a different day to wear it, _any other day at all_, she would be thrilled. For weeks, she'd been asking him to change. It wasn't that she didn't like the expensive looking suit and tie he was so fond of. She liked them a whole lot, actually. She especially liked taking them off of him one piece at a time when he just wanted to magic it all off, but didn't so she could have her fun.

It was just that they were so out of place in Puente Antiguo, where everything that wasn't plaid was some kind of polyester. Jane was tired of all the stares they got whenever they went somewhere, and of countless acquaintances (particularly those of the female persuasion) stopping her in the streets and demanding to know when she found the time to bag some mysterious sexy millionaire type in between storm chasing. Not that any change in his wardrobe would stop it completely. Jane was convinced that Loki could go out in a chicken suit and make it work. Either way, she asked him over and over again to _please_ just try something different for a day, see if he liked it.

"I won't," was all he would say before going back to whatever he was doing at the time. That was about all Jane could do for one day. Trying to make Loki do _anything_ he didn't want to do was about as productive as asking a brick wall to move three steps to the left.

What prompted him to abide by her wishes today, Jane couldn't say. All she knew was that she was regretting ever saying anything to him in the first place. Before, he'd been talking at length about his dissatisfaction with the service at the local supermarket ("As if the worm eaten produce wasn't enough, the floors are covered in filth. What foolish Midgardian came up with the idea to use already soiled water to clean up messes? In Asgard, such idiocy would have them flogged."). Never before had she been so entranced by whining, _and it was all because of that stupid shirt he was wearing with the goddamn top buttons undone._

When did Jane even develop a neck fetish anyway? Was this a new thing, or did she always have it deeply suppressed in the back of her mind, just waiting to be triggered? It wasn't as if she hadn't seen him numerous times before. At this point she'd probably touched, kissed and bit every inch of him at least once, and that included his neck. It had never stuck out to her on its own, it was just another part of him for her to explore every night while he returned the favor.

It had to be that shirt, which brings us back to the clothing situation. He must have been doing this on purpose. Somehow, he figured out that she had this latent kink for the seemingly indistinct flesh that connects ones head to their chest. Being the supposed God of Mischief, and just in general the most difficult person Jane ever met (which was saying something), of course he would choose today, when she needed a distraction the least, to exploit it. Right now, there was a complicated equation vital to her current research half completed on the table before her. Behind it was a stack of papers that all need attention equal in proportion to that of the equation. If she really kicked it into gear, she might get two thirds of it done by nightfall and _may_ have something resembling a restful night's sleep. This all hinged on her no longer being distracted by Loki's unbuttoned shirt and the way it left his pale skinned and flawless throat on full display.

And by flawless, she meant _literally flawless_; not a single blemish to be found. He sat to the side and- oh God, he was leaning over the other way. The move pulled at his shirt just a little more. If she looked close, she could probably see the top of his chest, but right now that damn neck had all her attention. If she could just get a little closer… Maybe she could pretend her pen had run out of ink and she had to go grab another out of the supply closet. Then she could just casually walk by- he probably wouldn't even spare her a glance- and just casually look down at that long line of unspoiled flesh that was calling out to her.

Now that she thought about it, the sight of it up close might drive her to forget herself. It already did so much to her from a distance. She might become so distracted, that she'd trip and fall, and of course, he'd have to catch her. While they recoiled, she might be able to reach up and plant just one small little kiss right in the middle, right by his throat or his Adam's apple.

What if it left a mark?

She imagined Loki's neck no longer perfect, but dotted in tiny little bruises of her own design.

Yeah, she wasn't getting anything done today, for sure.

A delightful little shiver started at her back, then spread to the rest of her and she had to suck in a breath. Then she froze in place, watching him now for a whole different, much less pleasant, reason. He hadn't turned to face her, changed positions, or moved in any way at all in response to her. He had to have heard her just now, his hearing was ridiculously good (just another 'God' thing, apparently).

She must not have been as loud as she'd thought, or he was just ignoring her. Jane glanced down at the equation, forcing herself to stare directly at the little numbers and letters and symbols that only half made sense to her in their current form. That could only mean she was missing something, some important key to making it work. Jane was tapping her pen before she realized she was doing it, and that was making some pretty loud noise. She was surprised Loki hadn't asked her to stop yet. He was being unusually quiet right now, come to think about it.

Jane's head started to rise, and halfway there, she stopped and looked right back down. She was trying to avoid looking at him right now. Him and his stupid, perfect, completely _out there_ neck that she could be kissing right now and getting all this hormone driven insanity of her system if it weren't for this _damn_ paperwork.

His silence worked in her favor anyway. No talking, no distractions. Just so long as she kept her mind on her work and off of him and whatever part of his body happened to have caught her fancy at the moment, neck or otherwise. If she could just do that, she'd be all set. Everything else was just a lot of skimming and signing her name. The hardest part would be over if she could just find the solution to this one little problem.

Jane scribbled at nothing, just a hair's breath away from the paper. The equation was starting to jumble together in her mind. Any potential solution that came to her was thrown out just as fast. No matter how close it came to fitting, something would still stick out and not add up. She had already written and erased so much, one more time, and there would be a hole worn into the page. She was tapping again, and this time, she could hear Loki exhale deeply through his nose. He didn't sound angry or annoyed, but it still gave her pause. Jane's eyes flicked up, straining to see without her having to lift her head. Because if she did that, it would be right back to the neck and the skin and the throat and the kissing and- okay, this was getting her nowhere. She didn't hesitate any longer. If she did, even for one second, she would come back to her senses and get to spend another ten minutes being painfully indecisive and blocked. She stood up straight and looked-

At the spot Loki_ had_ occupied.

She blinked twice to make sure it was real, and in that time felt warm breath at the top of her head. With a shriek, she fell off her chair, barely escaping a bruised behind when Loki snatched at her wrists, holding on gently, but firmly, so she hovered an inch above the ground. He pulled her up effortlessly, with no help from her at all. Their eyes had been intent on each other since the moment he appeared. It was a decidedly good way to avoid looking again at what she now dubbed 'the forbidden zone'. It was still out there, though. Right in the corner of her eye, there it was in _that shirt_.

"I thought you were working," Loki said, like she was a disobedient child he had to lecture.

Jane did her best not to appear as affronted as she was. "What are you talking about? I was."

"And your work involves staring at me?"

Silence followed. Jane hated the way she had no answer to that. All it did was make him more assured that he was right (which he was, but she'd be damned if he needed to know that).

"I wasn't staring," she said weakly.

He raised an eyebrow at her, not buying it even for a second. He swallowed something back, and his Adam's apple bobbed with the movement. Jane shivered involuntarily.

"You seem distressed, Jane. Perhaps you should take a break."

Only then did Jane notice that he was still holding one of her wrists. He moved away, and it was clear he intended to take her with him. Jane kept firmly in place and Loki would have taken her arm clean off if he hadn't stopped in time.

"I'm fine," she said. Though she sounded calm on the outside, inside she was anything but. "I'm not stressed; I just have a lot of work to finish and very little time to do it in."

She was indeed so far from calm that she'd started waving her hands, a sad attempt at emphasizing her point. Loki still looked like he didn't believe a word of it and now she was pretty sure another button had come undone because that skin and that throat and-

"Most of this, I should have gotten done yesterday, but I didn't. So now, I only have today and tomorrow, and at the very least, I want to finish this one equation so it's out of the way, and then all the rest of this stuff needs is my signature."

She motioned at the stack, but her arms were flying wild by now, and the loss of control was enough for her to knock into the very neat and orderly pile that had been painstakingly organized. It was now tipping over the edge, the very top papers already sliding off.

"NO!" Jane cried.

Loki sighed and gave a positively bored wave of his hand. The papers halted in midair and flew back into place, controlled by magic. Soon, they were as tidy as if they had never been touched by human hands. Jane took a breath to slow her racing heart. With a grateful look at her lover, she was stopped from any verbal thanks when he spoke again.

"If all you need for the rest is your signature, surely it can wait until tomorrow."

God, when he talked, she could see the words reverberating in his throat. That damn _throat_; that damn _neck_.

"Well, I do need to finish this one."

Jane jabbed a finger at the paper. Loki scanned it briefly. It occurred to Jane that he could help her find the answer easily, but she wasn't about to ask him for help. It was a matter of pride and all that.

"I see," he said thoughtfully. "Tell you what, we'll make a deal. If this equation of yours is completed within the next two minutes, you will save the rest of your work until tomorrow."

"And spend the rest of the day how?" she asked challengingly.

Loki just smiled.

Jane shook her head, but it was fine. She would take the bait. She never thought having a block would work in her favor. Maybe, once it was clear that she wouldn't be winning this little wager of his, he'd finally get bored and go back home. Then she could actually get something done without him and his oh so kissable neck to distract her. Jane hid her smile by looking down, pretending to be focused, when really she was just raking her eyes over numbers she'd practically memorized by now, and all the little spots that were giving her trouble. It was going very well up until Loki's hand entered her vision. He pointed at certain group of numbers.

"Right there," he muttered.

Against her better judgment, Jane complied and looked at the designated point. Almost instantly, she understood what he wanted her to see. She'd been ignoring this particular spot because she thought it was already right, but looking at it in relation with the problem as a whole, suddenly the whole equation took on a whole new meaning.

From there, it took a minute and thirty seconds to solve it completely.

Jane dropped her pen, slammed her hands onto the table and gave him the strongest death glare she could muster. Loki never lost that smile of his. It was in equal parts innocent and smug, in a way only he could manage.

"I never specified _how_ it should be completed, Jane," he said.

Though she wanted to scream out in frustration, she knew there were much better outlets. Throwing the paper away, Jane all but leapt into Loki's arms and buried her head in the crock of his neck. She nearly ripped his shirt clean off trying to push it aside. Loki tilted his head to one side, obliging her and giving her lips and tongue plenty of access.

"Smartass," she said between fervent kisses.

"Yes, and you love it," Loki said cockily, then gasped when Jane gave his throat a gentle bite, the first of many.


End file.
